Hungary hoping Szoboszlai can put injuries behind him

LONDON : Hungary's hopes of reaching the Euro 2024 knockout stages will largely hinge on whether midfield maestro Dominik Szoboszlai can return to his best after struggling with injuries this year.

The 23-year-old was instrumental in helping Marco Rossi's side to sail through qualifying, scoring a joint leading four goals with forward Barnabas Varga as they topped their group after recording impressive home and away victories over Serbia.

They went through all of 2023 unbeaten and Szoboszlai was one of the most sought-after players in the close season, earning a move to Premier League Liverpool from RB Leipzig.

He quickly won over the Anfield faithful, drawing comparisons for his box-to-box energy with Liverpool great Steven Gerrard.

Szoboszlai's creativity from midfield was something Hungary sorely missed at Euro 2020, which he sat out through injury.

Rossi's side performed well, drawing with European heavyweights Germany and France after losing 3-0 against Portugal to exit in the group stage.

Hungary can hold teams at bay with their veteran defenders but hurting opponents by building attacks or on the break is much easier with Szoboszlai dominating the centre of the pitch.

His influence is shown by Rossi entrusting him with the captaincy when he was 22. Szoboszlai has even drawn comparisons with the great Ferenc Puskas, the leading figure of the incredible Hungary team of the 1950s.

Although still early in his career, Szoboszlai has made 40 appearances for his country, scoring 12 goals.

INCREDIBLE LEVEL

One of Szoboszlai's team mates compared him to a modern-day great after Hungary qualified for the Euros at the end of last year with a 3-1 win over Montenegro.

Szoboszlai scored twice and celebrated the win with a shot of